Dentists do not use cocaine as an anaesthetic on patients, the president of the Dental Council said on Friday, rejecting the excuse police used for not filing a drug charge against Red Bull heir Vorayuth 'Boss' Yoovidhya.
Pojanart Poomprakobsri, the council president, was responding to a report that police found cocaine in Mr Vorayuth’s system after a fatal hit-and-run in 2012 but decided not to press a narcotics charge because the drug had been used in dental treatment.
Dentists no longer used cocaine because its anaesthetic effect was short-lived, and it has been linked to hypertension and impact on the hearts of patients, Mr Pojanart said.
Dentists use other substances that are better and fewer side effects. As a result, cocaine has disappeared from dentistry, he said.
The Dental Council was ready to provide police with information, he said, adding that it wanted information on the dentist who treated Mr Vorayuth so that it could verify if cocaine was really administered.
Confusing accounts of the drug investigation are among many developments that have emerged since it was learned that prosecutors had dropped all charges in the case against the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families, causing national outrage.
Mr Vorayuth, now 35, was accused of driving his black Ferrari when it struck the rear of a policeman’s motorcycle at high speed, dragging his body along Sukhumvit Road before speeding away in the early morning of Sept 3, 2012. The victim was Pol Sgt Maj Wichian Klanprasert, 47, who was based at Thong Lor police station.
